Wicked will probably always be one of my favorite musicals. I loved the cast, the music, the score, and the costumes. The play is loosely based on “The Wizard of Oz” but it is actually more of an unlikely prequel to the Frank Baum book. It focuses on the relationship between two very different young ladies. One is pretty, popular, and selfish. This leads to one of the most best known songs of the production, Glinda does an amazing job singing, “Popular.” The other girl, Elphaba, is smart, talented, mean to others, and a loner. It is a story that weaves the well-known themes of bigotry, improbable friendships, and the power to transform people.

Both Glinda and Elphaba are wonderful singers and the songs are absolutely memorable. The story begins with Glinda sitting prettily in a swing and asking, “It’s good to see me, isn’t it?” This brings the first of an evening of chuckles from the audience. She then rather seriously announces that the Wicked Witch of the East is dead. Thus begins a flashback chronicling the unlikely friendship between Glinda, who is supposed to be the good witch, and the green-skinned, Elphaba, who was basically the good girl until shattered idealism transformed her into the wicked witch.

Glinda and Elphaba star as an unlikely pair of boarding-school roommates who somehow form a strong bond as Glinda finally transforms into the really good witch she is meant to be. The most memorable songs for me include the well-known “Popular” and “Defying Gravity” but my favorite song came at the end when the girls join together to sing a moving version of “For Good.” Because they knew each other, they have been changed for good. Wicked The Musical is spell binding from opening act to the closing curtain.